Ephesians 2.21a-The Members of the Church are Fitted Inextricably Together
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Thursday February 15, 2024
Ephesians Series: Ephesians 2:21a-The Members of the Church are Fitted Inextricably Together
Lesson # 127
Ephesians 2:11 Therefore, each and every one of you as a corporate unit must continue to make it your habit of remembering that formerly each of you who belong to the Gentile race with respect to the human body, specifically, those who receive the designation “uncircumcision” by the those who receive the designation “circumcision” with respect to the human body performed by human hands, 12 each one of you used to be characterized as without a relationship with Christ. Each one of you used to be alienated from the nation of Israel’s citizenship. Specifically, each of you used to be strangers to the most important promise, which is the product of the covenants. Each of you used to not possess a confident expectation of blessing. Consequently, each one of you used to be without a relationship with God in the sphere of the cosmic world system. 13 However, because of your faith in and your union and identification with Christ Jesus each and every one of you as a corporate unit who formerly were far away have now been brought near by means of the blood belonging to this same Christ. 14 For He Himself personifies our peace. Namely, by causing both groups to be one. Specifically, by destroying the wall, which served as the barrier, that is, that which caused hostility (between the two and the two with God). 15 In other words, by nullifying by means of His human nature the law composed of the commandments consisting of a written code of laws in order that He might cause the two to be created into one new humanity by means of faith in Himself at justification and union and identification with Himself through the baptism of the Spirit at justification. Thus, He caused peace to be established (between the two and the two with God). 16 In other words, in order that He would reconcile both groups into one body to God (the Father) through His cross. Consequently, He put to death the hostility (between the two and the two with God) by means of faith in Himself at justification and union and identification with Himself through the baptism of the Spirit at justification. 17 Correspondingly, He as a result came proclaiming peace for the benefit of each and every one of you, namely, those who were far off likewise peace to those were near. 18 Consequently, through the personal intermediate agency of Himself each and every one of us as a corporate unit, namely, both groups are experiencing access by means of the omnipotence of the one Spirit to the presence of the Father. 19 Indeed therefore, each and every one of you as corporate unit are no longer foreigners (to the covenants of promise), that is, foreign citizens. But rather each and every one of you as a corporate unit are fellow citizens with the saints, that is, members of God’s household 20 because each and every one of you as a corporate unit have been built upon the foundation, which is the communication of the gospel to each one of you by the apostles as well as prophets. Simultaneously, He Himself, namely, Christ Jesus is the cornerstone. 21 On the basis of its being continually fitted inextricably together by means of justification by faith and union and identification with Him, the whole building is growing into a holy temple by appropriating by faith your union and identification with the Lord. (Lecturer’s translation)
Ephesians 2:21 is composed of the following:
(1) causal participial clause en hō pasa oikodomē synarmologoumenē (ἐν ᾧ πᾶσα οἰκοδομὴ συναρμολογουμένη), “On the basis of its being continually fitted inextricably together by means of its union and identification with Him.”
(2) declarative statement auxei eis naon hagion en kyriō (αὔξει εἰς ναὸν ἅγιον ἐν κυρίῳ), “the whole building is growing into a holy temple by appropriating by faith your union and identification with the Lord.”
The causal participial clause presents the basis or the reason why for the declarative statement which follows it.
Therefore, Paul asserts that the members of the Christian community are growing experientially into a holy temple by means of fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ because or on the basis that they are being continually fitted inextricably together by means of justification by faith and union and identification with Jesus Christ.
Thus, this verse teaches that the church age believers fellowship with the Lord is based upon their union and identification with Him and without the latter, there could be no former.
This interpretation is indicated by the fact that this assertion is bookended by the prepositional phrases en hō (ἐν ᾧ), “by means of its union and identification with Him” and en kyriō (ἐν κυρίῳ), “by appropriating by faith your union and identification with the Lord” to bookend this assertion.
Together, they emphasize this spiritual principle.
As we noted in our study of Ephesians 2:19, Ephesians 2:20-22 like the former contains a metaphor.
In the former, the apostle Paul employs two metaphors to describe Gentile Christians not only in relation to the Jewish Christian community but in relation to every believer in every Old Testament dispensation in the past.
The first metaphor is that Gentile Christians are citizens in a city.
The second is that they are members of a family.
He uses these two metaphors in order to emphatically emphasize that they are share equal status in the kingdom of God with Jewish believers in past Old Testament dispensations and with those believers who lived in the dispensations before the establishment of the nation of Israel.
In other words, Paul is stating in emphatic terms to the Gentile Christian community that they are by no means second rate citizens.
Therefore, we can see that these two metaphors present an emphatic contrast between the unregenerate state of these Gentile church age believers and their present regenerate state as justified sinners who are in union with Jesus Christ and identified with Him in His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at the right hand of the Father.
In Ephesians 2:20, Paul employs a building metaphor and specifically a temple metaphor in order to describe the church.
In Ephesians 2:21, the referent of the relative pronoun hos (ὅς) is Jesus Christ and contains the figure of metonymy which means that the person of Jesus Christ is put for justification by faith and union and identification with Him in His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at the right hand of the Father.
This is indicated by the fact that the members of the body of Christ are being continually inextricably joined together through the baptism of the Spirit the moment the Father declared them justified through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ by placing them together in union with His Son.
The Spirit also identified them with His Son in His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at the right hand of the Father.
The dative masculine singular form of the relative pronoun hos (ὅς) is the object of the preposition en (ἐν), which functions as a marker of means.
This indicates that justification by faith and union and identification with Jesus Christ is “the means by which” church age believers are fitted or inextricably connected together to form a coherent whole or corporate unit.